One in ten say high rental demand made housing tenants “much easier” this year.
- 1 in 4 (26%) of landlords will reduce their portfolio in 2024
- Generally, the older a landlord is, the more likely they are to form a stronger relationship with their tenants
- Maintenance requests are the leading struggle for landlords
- Single tenants over 30 are landlords’ favourite to house
Between complications like the Renters Reform Bill and the country’s volatile inflation rates, 2023 will be remembered as a year of uncertainty, inconsistency and turmoil for plenty of UK landlords. But what position will landlords be in as we head into 2024?
Interested in this, the experts at Alan Boswell surveyed landlords from across the UK on how their profits, portfolio and tenant relationships have evolved over the last year.
Note to editors: if you use any of the data within this release, we kindly ask that you provide a link to Alan Boswell Landlord Insurance Statistics as credit.
How much easier was finding tenants in 2023 compared to 2022?
| Response | % of respondents |
| Easier | 47% |
| About the same | 30% |
| Harder | 23% |
For more in-depth results, see here.
The vast majority (77%) of landlords did not have more difficulty finding tenants in 2023 compared to last year. In fact, almost half (47%) found it easier, with over one in ten (12%) saying that finding tenants in 2023 was “much easier” than 2022. Older landlords had less trouble finding tenants – just 18% of landlords over 60 struggled more with finding people to house this year, compared to 21% of those aged 41-60.
This may be because older landlords reported more positive relationships with landlords. 21% of landlords older than 60 got on well with tenants, compared to 20% of those aged 41-60, 19% of those aged 26-40, and just 12% of landlords aged 18-25.
Landlords’ biggest struggles this year
| Response | % of respondents |
| Maintenance requests | 28% |
| Tenant conflicts | 20% |
| Time management | 17% |
| Finding tenants | 17% |
| Finding suitable properties | 10% |
| Laws changing | 7% |
Maintenance requests were the leading cause of trouble for landlords in 2023, with over a quarter (28%) of property managers citing them as their biggest struggle. That’s four times as many as laws changing (7%), despite changes imposed by the Renters Reform Bill.
Tenant conflicts place second (20%). Overall, single tenants over 30 were landlords’ favourite to house with almost a quarter (24%) of landlords surveyed nominating them as the best kind of tenant. Alternatively, Holiday lets (5%) andShort-term lets (7%) are landlords’ least favourite property arrangement.
How landlords will change their portfolios in 2024
| Response | % of respondents |
| I am planning on keeping my portfolio the same | 52% |
| I am planning on reducing my portfolio | 26% |
| I am planning on expanding my portfolio | 22% |
Just over half (52%) of landlords are looking to keep their property portfolio the same in 2024. 26% are expecting to sell more properties than they buy in 2024, while 22% are looking to expand.
